[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 152 (Tuesday, November 4, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H9925-H9926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RAGGEDS WILDERNESS BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT AND LAND CONVEYANCE
Mrs. CHENOWETH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate bill (S. 589) to provide for a boundary adjustment and land
conveyance involving the Raggeds Wilderness, White River National
Forest, Colorado, to correct the effects of earlier erroneous land
surveys.
The Clerk read as follows:
S. 589
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT AND LAND CONVEYANCE, RAGGEDS
WILDERNESS, WHITE RIVER NATIONAL FOREST,
COLORADO.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) certain landowners in Gunnison County, Colorado, who
own real property adjacent to the portion of the Raggeds
Wilderness in the White River National Forest, Colorado, have
occupied or improved their property in good faith and in
reliance on erroneous surveys of their properties that the
landowners reasonably believed were accurate;
(2) in 1993, a Forest Service resurvey of the Raggeds
Wilderness established accurate boundaries between the
wilderness area and adjacent private lands; and
(3) the resurvey indicates that a small portion of the
Raggeds Wilderness is occupied by adjacent landowners on the
basis of the earlier erroneous land surveys.
(b) Purpose.--If it the purpose of this section to remove
from the boundaries of the Raggeds Wilderness certain real
property so as to permit the Secretary of Agriculture to use
the authority of Public Law 97-465 (commonly known as the
``Small Tracts Act'') (16 U.S.C. 521c et seq.) to convey the
property to the landowners who occupied the property on the
basis of erroneous land surveys.
(c) Boundary Adjustment.--The boundary of the Raggeds
Wilderness, Gunnison and White River National Forests,
Colorado, as designed by section 102(a)(16) of Public Law 96-
560 (94 Stat. 3267; 16 U.S.C. 1132 note), is hereby modified
to exclude from the area encompassed by the wilderness a
parcel of real property approximately 0.86-acres in size
situated in the SW\1/4\ of the NE\1/4\ of Section 28,
Township 11 South, Range 88 West of the 6th Principal
Meridian, as depicted on the map entitled ``Encroachment-
Raggeds Wilderness'', dated November 17, 1993.
(d) Map.--The map described in subsection (c) shall be on
file and available for inspection in the appropriate offices
of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture.
(e) Conveyance of Land Removed From Wilderness Area.--The
Secretary of Agriculture shall use the authority provided by
Public Law 97-465 (commonly known as the ``Small Tracts
Act'') (16 U.S.C. 521c et seq.) to convey all right, title,
and interest of the United States in and to the real property
excluded from the boundaries of the Raggeds
[[Page H9926]]
Wilderness under subsection (c) to the owners of real
property in Gunnison County, Colorado, whose real property
adjoins the excluded real property and who have occupied the
excluded real property in good faith reliance on an erroneous
survey.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Idaho [Mrs. Chenoweth] and the gentleman from American Samoa [Mr.
Faleomavaega] each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Idaho [Mrs. Chenoweth].
Mrs. CHENOWETH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mrs. CHENOWETH asked and was given permission to revise and extend
her remarks.)
Mrs. CHENOWETH. Mr. Speaker, Senate bill 589 provides for a boundary
adjustment and land conveyance involving the Raggeds Wilderness, White
River National Forest, Colorado, to correct the effects of earlier
erroneous land surveys. This bill is identical to legislation which
passed within the House of Representatives earlier this year as H.R.
1019.
In 1993, following a boundary survey, the White River National Forest
discovered an encroachment in the Raggeds Wilderness area just west of
the town of Marble in Colorado. The encroachment consists of
approximately 400 feet of power line and 450 feet of road. In addition,
portions of four subdivision lots extend into the wilderness. The road
is a country road and provides the sole legal access to these four
lots. The entire encroachment is less than 1 acre of land.
The Bureau of Land Management Forest Service surveys found that the
original survey of the Crystal Meadows subdivision was erroneous, and
although less than 1 acre is affected, the Forest Service cannot settle
the matter under the authority of the Small Tracts Act because the
lands in question are within the Raggeds Wilderness area. The
wilderness boundary may only be modified by an act of Congress, and S.
589 follows the guidelines established by the Small Tracts Act, Public
Law 97-465.
This bill is noncontroversial, Mr. Speaker, and I urge its passage.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, the House passed H.R. 1019 on June 3,
1997, and the text has returned to us with a Senate bill number.
Mr. Speaker, this bill adjusts the boundaries of the Raggeds
Wilderness in the White River National Forest in Colorado to
accommodate landowners who occupy the property on the basis of
erroneous land surveys. It conveys about 1 acre of land on which roads
and other improvements were inadvertently constructed. The legislation
is noncontroversial, and the administration does not object. I ask my
colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mrs. CHENOWETH. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from
American Samoa [Mr. Faleomavaega] for his comments.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Idaho [Mrs. Chenoweth] that the House suspend the
rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 589.
The question was taken.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum
is not present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5, rule I, and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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